[Technologist]

DTT has contracts which run out around 2035.... so I would say its safe until then ....
but not much beyond that .... as we knew in 2005
but how many channels will be emmitted then?
or how much viewing is on demand v linear (including FAST?)

On DVB T2 we have rather lost that .. the Vaizey plan was the right answer
mandate to PSB to emit all services in HD at time of 700 MHz clearance.
... and as far as helping the transition .....
- just use the Surplus from the Digital Help Scheme a mere £400M of LF money ...
(Grabbed by the government) -
Given likely HD Migration in any case
that alone would pay for making a basic HD STB for all who needed it

and or some of the money from Mobile Licences ..
Rather than temporalily moving TV into the Mobile band ....

Of course (much to the governmenst annoyance because they were not told)
Freeview stopped "ticking" SD equipment ...
and that has continued with "Play" and hopefully Freely

BBC Radio is very cheap to code and does not take up much bitrate....
(And TV has universal EPG which DAB does not have)
Emitted Red button is not a channel - and thus is perhaps useful to have!

[Newshound47]

I think the BBC will hesitate in removing radio from Freeview because there are quite a few areas where it’s the only way to access Local radio now AM has been switched off and DAB local multiplex’s not yet extended as widely. Once that’s resolved then maybe they will.

Particularly an issue in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as well (Those stations really should be on the DAB national multiplex there.)

I think all New TV’s can receive internet now. My TV is a decade old and can (But it’s a bit slow so I use a firestick for all internet via TV usages - my Virgin box also cannot handle Iplayer and other catch-up services very well either.)

[i.h]

So you can see why the Uk second largest domestic ISP is keen to move from satellite

It's also worth pointing out that Sky isn't going to care about 100% universal coverage (not that satellite actually has it - small numbers of people will have trees and buildings obstructing their view of 28E, not to mention people in conservation areas or rentals who either can't have a dish, can't have dual feeds, or (as in my case) the system seems to have fallen into disrepair)

I think DSAT/Freesat will still be present for at least the next five years at least. The challenge currently is providing Internet (30MB+) for rural areas. Openreach's work turning off the copper network will probably help towards this. Even if those premises only get FTTC it'll still be an improvement, and help support TV via ISP.

I would imagine that if you can't get FTTC today, you won't ever get it. Openreach want the copper gone and that means some will go straight from ADSL to FTTP.

I think the BBC will hesitate in removing radio from Freeview because there are quite a few areas where it’s the only way to access Local radio now AM has been switched off and DAB local multiplex’s not yet extended as widely. Once that’s resolved then maybe they will.

There's also the fact that as the BBC owns its freeview capacity and is not leasing it from others like Bauer is, there is virtually no additional cost to put the BBC Local Radio stations on Freeview & doing so gives them the excuse they needed to get rid of AM.

Three mobile broadband wouldn't be an option here. It's over subscribed with only Band 3 on a shared mast with EE.

However I'm fortunate that I have the choice of an Openreach provider on FTTC, Virgin Media and two Altnets.

and realistically isn't an option unless specially built for home broadband use. One person can get away with it, but if an entire village is trying to use the same mast then it's going to be quite miserable.

Nothing says it more than the fact that BT and Virgin are putting money into their fibre rollouts rather than on speeding up EE or O2 5G coverage, and both companies prefert to push their respective fixed line broadband products.

[Keith]

There's also the fact that as the BBC owns its freeview capacity and is not leasing it from others like Bauer is, there is virtually no additional cost to put the BBC Local Radio stations on Freeview & doing so gives them the excuse they needed to get rid of AM.

Worth noting though that PSB2 (the only DVB-T2 mux) is due for renewal in 2026, and currently the BBC have yet to commit to renewing it. They might potentially opt to let someone else take over owning that, especially given the uncertainty over the licence fee (and its possible replacement).

If that were to happen I could imagine BBC One remaining on PSB2 due to it already being configured for English regions. However for their other channels they might opt to convert PSB1 (which is theirs) to DVB-T2, with just nations variations, and move the rest of their HD channels onto that. I guess BBC radio station channels could still be retained, though older TVs may no longer be able to receive them.

[Newshound47]

Hasn’t the usage of Freeview been said to have risen recently as due to the cost of living people have been cancelling subscriptions.

[Technologist]

The Mux operated by BBC FTV ltd is PSB 3 which was a Commercial mux operated by on/itv Digital
PSB 2 is operated by D3&4 which like PSB1 for the BBC was gifted in 1998

So how about a deal done with D3&4/and its owners and c5 to give up PSB3 in its entirity
use the BBC PSB3 equipment for PSB1 (in HD only but with Radio), D3&4 get Arqiva to install new moduators,
BT to just press the button to reconfigure the D3&4 coders (which are fed HD at the moment) to work AVC AAC T2 PSB HD rest SD
and Combined PSBs pay off Arqiva for 9 years of unused mux ........
PSB3 has no resale value ... who would want to emit on the most expensive platform in the UK
Remember it took a well funded PSB three requests before they bought space on it!
but the CMA may say something wrt COM4 and like Motorola on ESN - COM 5 and COM 6
..... but we are out of the EU so they cannot intervene on state aid grounds
The Vaizey plan just 10+ years late!

All a bit tongue in cheek - but it highlights the issues....

But if you keep PSB1 and PSB3 with current content do you have only UK/National BBC SD
it saves a vast lot of replacement coders - !!!! like 100 .. a great price for being regional
(Existing are old and hardware not Software like PSB2 and 3)
and does the deal with BT allows itv to do likewise ... when they reagionalise their feeds to PSB3

Post 2035 one may hope that Mobile Telcos will have had 6 year after 3GPP issues the spec
- so that 5G media broadcast can be enabled ....
But the commercails and idealy use of common carrier.. Make this very complex ...
But by then the ESN may opetering so there will be at least one Telco with UK wide coverage
but how many channels to be emitted???
....... which is the "Being digital ready (first??)" question....

[cable]

and realistically isn't an option unless specially built for home broadband use. One person can get away with it, but if an entire village is trying to use the same mast then it's going to be quite miserable.

Nothing says it more than the fact that BT and Virgin are putting money into their fibre rollouts rather than on speeding up EE or O2 5G coverage, and both companies prefert to push their respective fixed line broadband products.

Simply not true. EE and Virgin are very much putting money into 5G, currently 5G services are non standalone which mean they rely on a 4G core, the next phase is standalone 5G which is a true end to end 5G network, its SA 5G which will bring benefits such as ultra low latency, improved coverage, less battery strain and improved speeds by leveraging spectrum along with support for higher density deployment of devices

www.ispreview.co.uk  AND news.virginmediao2.co.uk .

BT and EE Hint at UK 5G Standalone Mobile Rollout for H2 2024 - ISPreview UK
The Chief Security and Networks Officer of BT, Howard Watson, has hinted that EE…
  Source: www.ispreview.co.uk

Virgin Media O2 Unveils the Next Phase of its Mobile Network Evolution, with 5G …
Customers in the 14 locations* will be the first to access this major upgrade wh…
  Source: news.virginmediao2.co.uk

[i.h]

Simply not true. EE and Virgin are very much putting money into 5G, currently 5G services are non standalone which mean they rely on a 4G core, the next phase is standalone 5G which is a true end to end 5G network, its SA 5G which will bring benefits such as ultra low latency, improved coverage, less battery strain and improved speeds by leveraging spectrum along with support for higher density deployment of devices

www.ispreview.co.uk  AND news.virginmediao2.co.uk .

5G SA is effectively a software upgrade to an existing NSA network. It isn't a major investment in itself. I'd suggest that you don't buy into the hype too much.

Compare that to the billions both firms are spending on getting fibre into the ground - and some of that may well be very useful for a future 5G/6G coverage expansion. Openreach and Virgin can save a significant amount of *real money* by getting rid of copper, whereas any potential cost savings of 5G are much more nebulous especially at this early stage.

[cable]

Deploying new/upgrading masts and Re-farming 3G spectrum is not without costs, nor is removing Huawei equipment.

[i.h]

Deploying new/upgrading masts and Re-farming 3G spectrum is not without costs, nor is removing Huawei equipment.

With modern software defined radios, probably not huge. Maybe some licensing costs. Huawei is not a significant factor - the ban applies to 5G only (what little of it was out there at the time of the ban coming in) and natural equipment refresh cycles would take care of it before the cutoff in 2027. Again, fixed line is where the bigger issues lie as so much of Openreach's FTTC/FTTP is Huawei based. There is no actual ban there, just natural wastage as people move across.

Certainly not as large as building an entirely new fixed line network almost from scratch (don't even get the benefit of the ducts/poles in areas where they either don't exist, or need replacement or remedial works).

While Openreach make a lot of noise about how aggressive and fast paced their FTTP rollout is, you don't see the same from EE.

Anyway - this is getting off topic and the point still stands - 5G has lost a lot of its hype and network operators that own both are no longer prioritising it as much as they did. EE, O2 and Vodafone all try to sell fixed line products first.